They Want to Build a Road Nearly 3× Wider Through the Heart of Washington Crossing

Dear Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, I am writing to formally oppose any replacement of the Washington Crossing Bridge with a wider structure built to modern highway standards. The current bridge, with its 15-foot roadway and 3-ton weight limit, serves a critically important protective function. It keeps heavy trucks, high-speed traffic, and unrestricted vehicle loads out of Washington Crossing, a historic village whose buildings date to the era of George Washington's 1776 crossing of the Delaware River. I understand the Commission is studying a replacement with 12-foot lanes, 4-to-6-foot shoulders, and a 10-foot walking path, a total roadway nearly 3 times wider than what exists today. This is not a bridge replacement. It is the introduction of a highway-capacity crossing into one of the most historically significant communities in America. My specific concerns are: • Unrestricted truck access will vibrate and damage historic buildings that sit on dirt foundations • Dramatically increased traffic volumes will overwhelm roads not designed for them • Construction will damage the Delaware Canal, the historic park, and the river environment • Multiple studied alignments could route approach roads directly through the historic village core • There is no restoring what is lost once this scale of infrastructure is built I urge the Commission to: 1. Pursue full structural rehabilitation of the existing bridge 2. Direct heavy regional traffic to the Scudder Falls Bridge, 3 miles south 3. Formally support Upper Makefield Township's National Register of Historic Places application This bridge and this village have endured for 120 and 250 years respectively. With leadership that matches their significance, they can endure for centuries more. Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your Address] [City, State, ZIP]